Mary Jarvis is one of the most senior teachers in the Hot Yoga world.

Her depth and breadth of knowledge have gained her a reputation for training world champion athletes as well as helping people use yoga asana to heal acute injuries. Her workshops are a creative exploration of techniques and postures.

Alex Cuervo, YTB instructor, recently spearheaded a week long program with MJ at our studio. We sat down to talk about reflections on the workshop…

What inspired you to set this program up?

I’ve been following Mary around for about six years and have always come away inspired and rejuvenated in my practice. I thought it would be a great way for old students to feel the same in their practice and for new students to understand some of the background and context for the beginner Bikram class and the Shapeshifting class.

How has MJ impacted your practice over the years?

Before I met Mary and Esak (who was trained by Mary), I had no back bend and poor posture. I felt stiff as a board and could not for the life of me understand how some people could get into certain shapes with their bodies. Then I attended a workshop first with Esak then with Mary and so much changed immediately. Not only did my spine change radically, but my relationship with my body got deeper. My anatomy became a fascinating subject of study and the mind/body connection took on new meaning. I consider this relationship now with every class I take and every student I guide in their practice.

What were some of your favorite moments from the classes?

My favorite moments from class was that feeling of synchronicity with breath, present moment awareness, everyone on the same page and Mary harnessing all of it. Sounds pretty woo woo, but those were the moments when I’d tear up. It meant so much to have the Yoga Tribe clan embrace Mary.

What were some of your favorite moments from the shape-shifting?

Every time Mary shares her origin story of the shape-shifting class is special to me. She is living evidence of the power of faith. From being broken, literally in a cast with a surgeon telling her she’d never had the same range of movement again, to day by day, mending herself in the yoga room. I’m in awe every time she tells it.

How did the community respond during the week?

Each class was full. And beyond full. Mary refused to turn anyone away. That says something about the response. I got many thanks for my efforts of bringing Mary in, which was nice, but what’s more important to me is that the YTB community learned about this yoga from one of the OG’s and will be inspired to take what they learned to the mat.

Any final thoughts? Quotes from Mary?
My hope is that the students step onto their mats each class with a renewed sense of purpose and curiosity about the 26+2.

This picture says it all: